Chapter 29 - He is My Future (2/2)

“Split the bill? I’m treating you to dinner. Does everything need to be so cleanly divided between us?”

Yes, she thought. I need to establish clear boundaries with you. When it came to money, it was always better to make sure things were settled clearly and evenly. You could repay someone with cash, but not necessarily with favor, and she didn’t think she and Ning Mufan were on those terms yet. “Senior,

even family and close friends split the bill between them. Best that we make sure each of us pays our fair share.”

Ning Mufan inhaled through his nose. She could be truly stubborn when she wanted to be. “Sure,” he made himself say. “We’ll split the bill.” The young master of the Ning family had just taken the initiative to ask a girl out for the first time, and she wouldn’t even let him treat her. It was frustrating, to say

the least.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about, Senior?”

“T’ve spoken to Xie Qingqing, and I know you didn’t get married of your own accord. The Fengs forced you into it. If you want a divorce, I can help you.”

Why does everyone want me to get a divorce? Her husband treated her so well; she had nothing to complain about. “Thank you, but no thank you. I’m quite alright.”

Ning Mufan was certain that the smile on her face was fake. She had been forced by the Feng family to marry a sick, disfigured cripple. Which woman would be happy with such an arrangement? The more he thought about it, the more distressed he became. The woman of his heart-the one whose hand he

yearned to reach out and take in his own-being mistreated like this. He had to swallow down the anger that rose in him.

“You don’t need to put on a brave front. If you feel mistreated in any way, you can be honest with me.”

Tang Qiu looked baffled. “But I don’t feel mistreated!”

“How is that possible, after being forced to marry a man like that? I know you want to be strong, But you won’t have a future if you choose to stay married to him, Qiu.”

He was worried about her, she knew. She was left momentarily speechless. Ning Mufan was gentle and easygoing, but sometimes, his disposition revealed traces of his status as a young master from a wealthy family, and it simply came off too strong for her. There was a distance she always felt by his

side, a chasm between them that she could never quite bridge.

Only, now, he was speaking about her future with her. Back then, Feng Guo’an had used her grandmother to threaten her, leaving her with no choice but to obey him. Fortunately, Jiang Shaocheng had come to her rescue and taken care of her. In some way, she had beaten the odds. She had come out on

top of a situation no one would have expected her to.

“Everyone’s definition of a future is different, Senior. I think I’m happy with what mine looks like right now.”